Dave Covill Lead Director
P.O. Box 2092
Evergreen, CO 80437-2092
Dave has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2000;
and worked with the Highpointers Club Board of Directors to proceed with plans
to form the Foundation in 2004. Dave oversees day-to-day Foundation operations,
and is very involved with projects in Iowa and the BWAMM museum in Golden, Colorado.
Dave has been highpointing since 1981, and has 50 state highpoints,
with attempts on Denali in 2007, 2010, and a successful summit in 2012.
Dave works in the natural resources industry, and has a BS in Geology and an MBA in Finance.
He is shown at right (in the brown shirt) with Jim Whittaker - the first American to climb Mount Everest.
The Colorado Mountain Club recognized Dave as the Volunteer of the Year in 2011. |
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Roy Wallen Financial Director
27 Proctor Hill Road
Brookline, NH 03033
Roy has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2005,
performing most accounting and banking functions. He oversees daily and monthly banking operations,
and advises on taxation and auditing.
Roy was a member of the Highpointers Club from 1990 through 2016, and has ascended 38 state highpoints. He is also active in “collecting” county highpoints and has visited 434 of them, as well as pursuing other lists.
Roy works in the medical device industry, has been finance director of several charities,
and has a background in business management related to helthcare technology development. |
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Carol Radford Legacy Giving Director
P.O. Box 3668
San Diego, CA 92163
Carol, along with her husband Keith, have been attending the Highpointers Foundation meetings at the Konventions since 2010.
She was invited to join the Board of Directors in 2013 and has taken up the task of helping with Legacy Gift Giving.
Carol started high pointing in 1972 on Mount Whitney, and climbed it three more times before moving on to other states.
She has been in the Highpointers Club since 2003 and has reached 38 state highpoints.
She has also visited 34 state tri-points.
Carol is a retired science educator, holding a bachelors degree in chemistry and a masters in education.
She is also active in the San Diego Hiking Club, local Boy Scout troop, and loves “chasing” steam engines. |
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Stony Burk Highpointers Foundation Projects Director
1627 Gaston Road
Apple Springs, TX 75926
Stony has worked closely with the Highpointers Foundation for several years on highpoint projects and became a Director in 2011.
He served as Project Liaison promoting continued access and provide improvement where needed to the highpoints.
Stony’s career path has been in management as training director in human resource and project manager in design, sign fabrication, and graphics.
Stony has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 1992 with 49 states completed and an attempt on Denali.
Stony has served the Club in various capacities and visited most state highpoints multiple times as State Liaison Chair
promoting highpointing and establishing relationships with owners and caretakers.
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Jim Hawkins Donations Director
13550-23rd Place NE
Seattle, WA 98125
Jim, along with his wife Donna, has been attending the Highpointers Foundation meetings while at the Konventions since 2010.
He was invited to join the Board of Directors in 2013 and has taken up the task of coordinating gift acknowledgements.
Jim has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 1998 and had completed 5 highpoints before he even knew there was a club.
He now has 41 state highpoints.
Jim and Donna have used highpointing as an excuse to do a lot of sightseeing in each of the states they visit.
Jim was a junior high school math and science teacher for 11 years before he began working for the U.S. Postal Service in 1988. |
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Gerry Roach Webmaster and Director of Communication
1317 South Mesa Avenue
Montrose, CO 81401
Visit Gerry’s Web Site!
Like Gerry’s Facebook Page!
Gerry has been climbing mountains since he was a lad in the mid 1950s.
He climbed Denali for the first time in 1963 at age 19.
He finished climbing all of Colorado’s Fourteeners in 1975, summited Everest in 1983,
and became the second person to climb the Seven Continent Summits in 1985.
He summited the Karakorum’s Gasherbrum II without supplemental oxygen in 1997.
He went on to become the first person to climb the ten highest peaks in North America in 2000,
then added three more to be the first to climb every major peak in North America over 16,000 feet, finishing in 2003.
Gerry finished the 50 US State Highpoints in 2006,
and has been active in the highpointing community since then.
Gerry has visited all the county highpoints of five western states.
Gerry has math degrees, pursued a long career as a software engineer,
and has run the Highpointers Foundation website for many years.
Gerry completed a CFRE fundraising course in 2015,
and now helps to sharpen the Foundation’s focus onto more easily fundable projects. |
Gerry on top of Mount Everest on May 7, 1983
Photo by David Breashears |
Fallon Rowe Social Media Director
Saint George, UT
Fallon, a former geology student at Utah State University, has been highpointing since 2011.
Taking only a few years to do so, she completed 49 state highpoints by age 17,
and is part of the first mother-daughter team to highpoint the Lower 48 states.
Fallon is also a competitive rock climber and aspiring science writer.
Her love for writing, social media, and highpointing come together as she assists the Highpointers Foundation with social media.
She has attended three conventions and plans on coming every year possible in the future! |
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Jim Glaze Projects Director
1885 Rafes Way
Beaumont, TX 77713
Jim has been involved with the Highpointers Foundation since 2013.
He will use his expertise as a retired Project Engineer from Exxon-Mobil to help the Foundation with projects throughout America,
focusing on those close to his home state of Texas.
Jim has 25 state highpoints, and along with wife Debbi , and daughters Kaely (13) and Erin (13) enjoys road trips to each of our beloved highpoints. |
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Tonya Hancock Communications Director
Tennessee
Tonya has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2001,
and was a former Director of gift activities including performing all gift acknowledgement functions.
She moved to Europe with her husband and toddler and was an Associate Director.
She returned to the US to Tennessee, and has resumed activities with the Foundation.
Her background is with Texas Instruments in the Education Technology division.
Tonya has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2000, and has 33 state highpoints.
Tonya has been active in charities and/or non-profits since 1990,
supporting the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters,
Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the American Cancer Society
through volunteer work and fund-raising. Tonya has a Bachelors degree in Psychology
with an emphasis in Statistics, and a Masters in Business Administration. |
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Jane Bertrand Fundraising Director
New Orleans, LA
Jane Bertrand is a relative newcomer to Highpointing, having stumbled onto this pastime in 2010.
She recounts her decade-long quest in a recently published book entitled “You Started WHAT after 60?”
- Highpointing across America. By Jane’s count she has reached 46 state highpoints,
with a trip back to Hawaii in her future for some unfinished business.
Since joining the Board as an Associate Director in 2018, Jane has led the Highpointer Foundation’s
fundraising efforts to garner foundation support for future Foundation projects.
A native of Maine, Jane has lived in New Orleans for over 40 years
and laments the lack of climbing opportunities within a day’s drive.
She is a professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
(with a PhD in Sociology and an MBA) and travels regularly to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
in connection with her international family planning work.
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Robyn Watson - Projects Director
Cincinnati, OH
Robyn has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2019. As a Director with the foundation, she will promote continued access to highpoints and other related functions.
Robyn’s love of highpointing started 7 years ago as a natural extension of her passion for backpacking and birding.
She has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2016 and has completed 27 state highpoints.
She is the stay at home mother of 2 budding highpointers and has a background in Wildlife Management.
She is also active in Wilderness Women, Cincinnati Bird Club, the Cincinnati Audubon Society, the Sheltowee Trace Association,
as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters, and her local Boy Scout Troop and PTO.
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Raina Rusnak - Projects Director
Springfield, VA
www.summitchicks.com
Raina has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2013 shortly after her passion to reach the summit of each state began.
She has since reached the top of 48 state highpoints with family and friends, including 20 with her daughter.
As a resident of the DC metropolitan area, Raina spearheaded the 2019 design, placement, and fabrication of two signs at DC’s highpoint,
Fort Reno, in partnership with the National Park Service and the Highpointers Foundation.
Raina earned her undergrad at Gettysburg College and a Masters in Public Policy from American University.
She has spent her career in market research and currently works in Consumer Insights for a major grocery retailer.
When not hiking, Raina enjoys boxing to crosstrain for her next mountain adventure.
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Olivier Kozlowski - Compliance Director
Mansfield, MA 02048
Olivier lives in Mansfield, MA with his family and is a practicing attorney with extensive real etsate experience.
A longstanding member and former board member of the Highpointers Club, Olivier received the Frank Ashley award in 2014.
He has helped with several projecets over the years, including the Jack’s Glade memorial in MO and the ND easement,
and has now joined the Highpointers Foundation board.
Olivier’s highpointing journey began in 1995 with an ill-prepared but successful ascent of Katahdin.
He racked up 34 states before taking a bit of a break when his children were younger.
Now that his son Aleks has caught the highpointing bug, they have enjoyed revisiting multiple highpoints to bring Aleks up to speed.
They are pictured together on Kings Peak, UT - a new one for both!
Olivier looks forward to helping the Highpointers Foundation ensure permanent access for everyone to our nation’s highpoints.
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Associate Directors |
Al Dempsey Former Projects Director
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Al has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2007,
was involved in both fundraising and projects, including on Eagle Peak in his home state of MN.
Al has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2006 and has 38 state highpoints.
He retired from the business world in Minneapolis in 1997, moved to California,
and discovered hiking in the beautiful Coachella Valley near Palm Springs.
He has been on the Executive Committee of the Coachella Valley Hiking Club since 2001.
Al has a BA from Yale University and MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Fred Lobdell Taxation Director
Macon, NC 27551-0057
Fred has prepared tax returns for the Highpointers Foundation since 2006, and was a full director since 2009.
He advised the Foundation on all financial matters and oversaw all external audit functions.
He has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 1992, but actually started highpointing in 1962.
He has 45 state highpoints to his credit.
Fred recently retired as manager of an H & R Block office, but continues to do tax returns.
Before that he taught college-level Geology for 15 years, and his PhD is in Geology. |
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Matt Moniz Projects Director
Boulder, CO 80302
Matt Moniz is one of Colorado’s most accomplished young alpinists.
In May 2014, he completed back-to-back summits of Cho Oyu (8,201m) and Makalu (8,481m).
In the Spring of 2018, Matt summited both Everest (8,848m) and Lhotse (8,516m) in a superb tour de force.
Matt has also successfully climbed five of the Seven Summits and,
by age 12, set the world speed record for completing all 50 US State Highpoints.
In addition to his outdoor pursuits, Matt is an accomplished public speaker, fundraiser, and advocate for many organizations,
raising over $50,000 and awareness on behalf of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, the American Himalayan Foundation’s Stop Girl Trafficking Project,
the Access Fund, Boy Scouts of America, and Outdoor Nation.
An Eagle Scout since 2011, in 2010 he was recognized by National Geographic as an Adventurer of the Year,
and in 2015 he received the prestigious Outdoor Inspiration Award from the Outdoor Industry Association and was named Distinguished Boy Scout of the Year.
Matt intends to bring a fresh youthful perspective to the Foundation,
and since he has been to all 50 HPs more recently than most people, his familiarity will help with project ideas. |
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Mackenzie Scurka Social Media Director
Hanover, NH 03755
Mackenzie Scurka is a nature lover and long-time supporter of the highpointing community
with over 35 state highpoints to her credit, including several of the difficult ones.
As an Associate Director, she will combine her passion for highpointing and her social media skills to strengthen the
Highpointers Foundation’s online presence, with a grand goal of uniting highpointers worldwide.
In addition, Mackenzie narrated and helped produce the film American Highpoints,
the first film about highpointing.
Along with the outdoors, Mackenzie loves animals, biology, and philanthropy.
She is also extremely excited to be a member of Dartmouth College’s Class of 2019. |
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Former Directors |
Jean Trousdale Projects Director
Norman, OK
Jean coordinated project development for the Highpointers Foundation from 2004 until her death in 2016.
She was the point person for many Foundation projects. She was passionate about the
maintenance and improvement of the state highpoints and their surrounds,
as well as public education about highpoints and highpointing.
Jean was a member of the Highpointers Club from 1997 on, leading a number
of special projects for the Club in addition to operating the
Highpointers Mercantile (the Club store) and frequently assisting in the
preparation and running of the annual conventions. Jean reached 44 state highpoints.
Professionally she was in private practice as a psychologist for 35 years.
Jean closed her practice in 2005 and worked as a psychological consultant for a public mental health clinic.
Jean held a PhD in clinical psychology. Jean is deeply missed by the highpointing community. |
Jean on top of Kings Peak, Utah’s highpoint on July 6, 2006.
Photo by Dave Covill |
Karen O’Brien Gifts Director
Old Greenwich, CT
Karen was involved in the Highpointers Foundation from 2006 until 2010,
and performed gift acknowledgement and donor relations functions for the Foundation.
She was instrumental in getting the Foundation’s fundraising efforts started.
Karen has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2005 and has 2 state highpoints.
Karen has worked in accounting, finance, and consulting with extensive experience in the non-profit industry.
Karen has a Bachelors degree in Finance, an MBA, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
When family duties took priority, she retired from the Foundation Board.
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Dick Bourne Projects Director
Oakes, ND
Dick was involved with the Highpointers Foundation since 2011.
He was a big supporter of Foundation efforts to raise funds and enthusiastically participated in almost all of our Auctions.
Dick used his expertise to help the Foundation with projects throughout America, focusing on those close to his home state of North Dakota.
Dick had 31 state highpoints and attended numerous conventions.
Dick is deeply missed by the highpointing community. |
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Alan Scherer Charitable Giving Director
Tucson, AZ 85718-2519
Alan has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2006,
and advises the Directors on charitable giving and other related functions.
Alan has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 2005, and has 23 state highpoints.
His background is with Merrill Lynch, and he has been
retired from the corporate world for a few years. |
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Mary Groeneveld Projects Director
Sagola, MI 49881
Mary was inspired by the Mission Statement of the Highpointers Foundation.
As a newcomer to highpointing a few years ago, she found out that Mount Arvon was recently sold to a logging corporation based in WA, and she contacted the new owners.
Mary was instrumental in getting a new culvert and road repair created to make safer travel to Mount Arvon.
She uses her energy and expertise on projects across America. Mary continues to work hard with the people of Baraga County MI to make the MI-19 Konvention a success for the Club.
She will be working with both the road commission as well as Weyerhaeuser Corporation on improving the roads and highpoint area for the convention.
She will try to get the parking lot a little bigger.
Mary retired from the Michigan State Police where she worked for 25 years as a State Trooper.
She has 29 state highpoints and attempted Boundary Peak in Nevada in 2017 for Cops on Top,
an organization that honors the memories of those heroes who lost their lives in the line of duty protecting others;
she supports their families through highpointing.
She cherishes the new friendships that she and husband Terry have made through their attendance at HP Club Conventions.
When Mary took over the Mercantile for the Club, she retired from the Foundation board. |
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Gary White Projects Director
Double Springs, AL 35553-3555
Gary has been involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2006,
and assists with project development.
Gary has been a member of the Highpointers Club since 1996, and has 43 state highpoints.
He is a charter member of the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club.
Gary is a licensed professional land surveyor in the state of Alabama
and has a degree in mining engineering. |
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Paul Pontiff Compliance and Legal Director
Glens Falls, NY 12801-2168
Paul was involved in the Highpointers Foundation since 2005, and was
instrumental in the application process for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.
He reviewd legal and taxation issues.
Paul was a member of the Highpointers Club since 1991, and completed 14 state highpoints.
Paul was in private practice as an attorney for many years, specializing in tax,
corporate law, and non-profit foundations.
Sadly, Paul passed away in the fall of 2021. He will be missed by many. |
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